PROJECT / SLOW FACTORY

SLOW FACTORY is a social manufacturing program to provide feelings of delight and fulfillment, by working with someone and making by hands; which are missing in high consumptive society.

PRODUCT / HANDMADE PRODUCTS

Neither mass products by machines nor crafts by expert craftsman, SLOW LABEL produces MASS CRAFT; which has a new concept that anyone can enjoy to take part in the production. SLOW LABEL values individualities by varied hands.

HISTORY

2009-2010The Yokohama Rendez-vous Project Office embarks on a new experimental approach to hands-on manufacturing, with ZOU-NO-HANA TERRACE as a base. Its goal—to develop new products by dispatching artists active in Japan and abroad to facilities for people with disabilities in Yokohama.

2011 OCTOut of this endeavor, a brand of one-of-a-kind handmade items, SLOW LABEL, is born. Brand items are exhibited and sold at department stores and selected shops, nationwide, through displays at product shows.

2012 MAR“THE FACTORY” is held—the project’s first large-scale exhibition. Then, SLOW FACTORY—an open program inviting broad participation by members of the general public as well as artisans and people with disabilities—is launched. SLOW LABEL LAB, staffed by local citizens, is also formed to take charge of SLOW FACTORY. People of all walks of life—from students to housewives and company employees—take part and foster exchange while creating handmade items, and the program develops as a citizen-led activity.

2013 DEC“SLOW LABEL Tokushima” is born. In collaboration with NPO Foundation Tokushima Work Support Co-operative for People with Disabilities, the new BLUE BIRD COLLECTION series is launched. BLUE BIRD COLLECTION products employ no chemicals and are created using the all-natural “Tennen-aku-hakko-date” (natural ash lye fermentation) method. Sales distribution is unrolled nationwide.

2014 FEBSpecified Nonprofit Corporation SLOW LABEL is established so that a wide range of people, each giving play to his or her own individuality and capabilities, can help build a region where all people can lead lives of value.

2014 AUGApplying networks and know-how fostered through manufacturing activities, the Yokohama Paratriennale is launched—a project aimed at realizing new artistic expression through encounters between talented individuals with disabilities and art professionals from a wide range of disciplines. The inaugural issue of SLOW JOURNAL is also published to commemorate the Paratriennale’s opening. SLOW JOURNAL is a new form of communications media based on the barrier-free concept, edited by many different people working together.

SLOW LABEL PARTNER

PROJECT	SPIRAL / Wacoal Art Center Co.,Ltd. 5-6-23 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062, Japan
	ZOU-NO-HANA Terrace 1 Kaigan-dori, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture 231-0002, Japan * ZOU-NO-HANA TERRACE is operated by Wacoal Art Center. In cooperation with Culture and Tourism Bureau, City of Yokohama.
PRODUCT	SLOW LABEL YokohamaUNDER THE TREE 2F-18, 5-9-23 Jingu-Mae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 105-0001, Japan
	SLOW LABEL TokushimaKyoritsu co.,ltd. 71 Muya-tyo Kurosaki Miyadu, Naruto-shi, Tokushima Prefecture 772-0001, Japan